Super lasers in Europe? You bet

A total of four initial highpowered lasers will be built in
eastern Europe; three will be built initially, with the fourth one
scheduled for a later date. The first super laser, to be located
near the Czech capital city of Prague, will achieve exawatt class,
making it around 100 times more powerful than what is currently
available.

The project partners point out that ELI's primary goal is to serve
as a research tool. This type of super laser could play a crucial
role in the development of new cancer diagnosis and treatments, and
could help fuel our understanding of molecular biology and
nanoscience. It could also be used to resolve myriad issues that
weigh heavily on the minds of environmentalists, like how to handle
nuclear waste.

Sources in the Czech Republic are quoted as saying that the ELI
laser was a tough deal to get since five countries were pushing to
bring it to their part of the world.

The Czech Republic, however, will become a strong player in the
field of optic and photonic research thanks to the ELI project. In
the last decade, this EU Member State has hosted Precision
Automated Laser Signals (PALS), which is one of the most
sophisticated laser systems across Europe.

Under the plan, the super laser will start running within the next
four years in Dolni Brezany, a town located south of Prague. It
will operate using very short pulses of significantly
highenergy particle and radiation beams.

Hungary and Romania are set to be the next locations for the super
lasers. Sources say that each project will specialise in diverse
research areas. But all projects will lead to the construction of
the fourth super laser, which will have double the power of the
three lasers. This fourth super laser will yield up to 200
petawatts per hour, which experts say is the theoretical limit for
lasers.

Sources say the project's overall price tag will total EUR 700
million. ELI brings together almost 40 research and academic
institutions from 13 EU Member States. Coordinated by the Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique in France, ELI comprises
three branches: 1) ultrahigh field science that explores
lasermatter interaction in an energy range where relativistic
laws could become null and void; 2) attosecond laser science, which
is designed to conduct a temporal investigation of electron
dynamics in atoms, molecules, plasmas and solids at the attosecond
scale; and 3) highenergy beam science that focuses on the
development and use of dedicated beam lines with ultra short pulses
of highenergy radiation and pulses reaching nearly the speed
of light.

Experts from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Spain,
France, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania and
the United Kingdom are making major contributions to this
project.